AIGA Innovate is a grant program developed to encourage and empower chapters to boldly face the future. The program funds game-changing projects at AIGA chapters across the country, which improve the AIGA member experience, impact the wider community, are scalable to other chapters, and are sustainable after the initial grant period.
AIGA is allocating $1 million toward new and exciting projects. The first funding period was in 2015. The second funding period is underway now—this is your opportunity to transform AIGA and bring big ideas to life. Learn more about AIGA Innovate and collaborate with our chapter to apply for funding by January 29!
Have an idea? Join us!
AIGA Philadelphia is hosting an idea session on Saturday, January 16th at 10am at Benjamin’s Desk. We will briefly explain how the AIGA Innovate fund works and spend time generating and discussing potential ideas. We are limiting the number of participants to ensure a productive and collaborative session. Email Lauren Dougherty if you are interested in attending and for more information.
High standards for approval
We want your ideas to blow our minds, but like all grant applications, there are a few goals to keep in mind. Proposed projects must:
- Support AIGA’s mission and strategic framework
- Demonstrate advancement and inspiration, and be conceptually new
- Inventively meet a need for the chapter, its members, or community
- Demonstrate the capacity to be shareable and scalable among AIGA’s 70 chapters and not limited only to your local community
- Become self-sustaining after the initial funding
- Engage the larger community to find creative design solutions to challenges
Who can apply?
- All applications must be submitted with the approval and participation of the AIGA Philadelphia board and the signature of the chapter president. AIGA Innovate grants are awarded to chapters, not to individual members.
- Any individual leading a project and submitting on behalf of the chapter must 1) be a current AIGA member and 2) develop the application in collaboration with the AIGA Philadelphia chapter
Note: AIGA Innovate grants are not a stipend for individual chapter activity or one-time special events. Instead, this fund should be considered an opportunity for additional means to prototype an exciting new project for the wider organization.
The AIGA Philadelphia board is held accountable for seeing our chapter’s funded projects through to completion as promised in the proposal. Any proposal developed by our chapter must get majority approval by the AIGA Philadelphia board of directors prior to submission. The board’s role in the proposal process and project completion can be little or great—it depends on what the project leader and team require and request.
To learn more, read the informational packet and review the AIGA Innovate FAQ’s page.